The Pacers–Bucks series was riddled with heated altercations. First, it was Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, then followed by Haliburton’s dad and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Following the Bucks’ heartbreaking loss to the Pacers in Game 5, where they blew up a 7-point lead in the final 40 seconds, Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John Haliburton, walked onto the court with a banner of his son. According to Antetokounmpo, Haliburton’s father stood in front of a disappointed Antetokounmpo and started swearing at him.
Giannis said it felt like disrespect to him, and he confronted John on the sidelines. John took to social media after the game and issued an apology to Giannis. Furthermore, John went on NBC and expressed his feelings about what went down with Giannis.
“When I turned, it might seem like I was looking at him, but I really wasn’t. I was looking through him. That’s how I was in the moment. I know it looked like I was staring him down, but it wasn’t like that. It was in the moment, and I was looking right through him. Yes, I had the banner in my hand and I was yelling ‘Yayy! Yayy!’. Giannis never said anything to me, I never said anything to Giannis. There was no back and forth,” said John initially.
“He grabbed my hand, he put his forehead on my forehead, and he said, ‘Don’t disrespect me. Don’t f—ing disrespect me.’ And I said to him, I was not trying to disrespect you, which I wasn’t. I’m telling you I did not do that on purpose, I really did not. And then I said to him, ‘I love you’, and he said back to me, ‘I love you’, we patted chests, he gave us a thumbs up, and he walked away”, he further clarified.
What Giannis Antetokounmpo Said About Tyrese Haliburton’s Father
Antetokounmpo spoke to the media about the scuffle after the game, and confirmed that Haliburton’s father, John, walked toward the Bucks star, waving a towel and swearing at him.
“I believe in being humble in victory, that’s how I am. A lot of people out there that are like, No, when you win the game, you talk s— and it’s a green light for you to be disrespectful towards somebody else. I disagree. I’ve won a championship, they haven’t. That doesn’t say anything, I’m not trying to minimize their effort,” he said.
Giannis then recalled how during his championship win, his mother was scared to come on the court just to hug her son, and how his family stays behind the scenes and not in front of cameras.
“Losing the game, emotions run high. Having a fan — which at the moment I thought it was a fan, but then I realized it was Tyrese’s dad. Which I love Tyrese, I think he’s a great competitor. His dad coming on the floor and showing me his son — a towel with his face on, ‘This is what we do. This is what we f—ing do. This is what the f— we do’ I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” he further added.
Giannis then went on to recall how his late father was humble to the core and how he passed on those principles to him. He even conceded that he might behave like John if his son were playing in the league 20 years from now. Antetokounmpo said he talked with John Haliburton after the altercation and that they’re “in a good place.”
